Bitcoin is back below $10,000 after the market sentiment was hurt by the news that the US securities watchdog has charged a former crypto trading platform and its founder with fraud. In Switzerland, a project that attracted one of the biggest amount in an ICO in July has finally decided to launch its blockchain network and coin that were long delayed due to infighting.
Here are some main news from the cryptocurrency market over the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin Below $10,000
The biggest cryptocurrency Bitcoin continued to loose its shine for the second day, dropping below $10,000 again, reaching the lowest value in a week. All other major digital currencies also are in the downtrend. Bitcoin was priced at $9,802.04, down 9.9 percent, with a market cap of $165 billion. On Thursday, bitcoin had declined to $9,796.57, its lowest level in a week. The negative sentiments followed the SEC's charging of BitFunder, a former bitcoin-denominated platform, and its founder Jon Montroll with fraud.
SEC Charges Former Bitcoin Exchange BitFunder, Founder With Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged BitFunder, a former bitcoin-denominated platform, and its founder Jon Montroll with fraud. The SEC's complaint, filed in federal district court in Manhattan, charges BitFunder and Montroll with violations of the anti-fraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctions and disgorgement plus interest and penalties. The site reportedly shut down just one year after its 2012 launch. Read more...
Tezos Foundation Aims For Coin Launch After Board Reogranisation
The Zug, Swtizerland-based Tezos Foundation, which raised over $232 million in a crowdfunding initiative in July to develop a cryptocurrency and blockchain network, has reorganized its board which it hopes would help in the launch of its Tezos network and tezos coins. The launch had been delayed due to infighting between its three founders - Kathleen and Arthur Breitman, founders of the US-based Dynamic Ledger Solutions, and Johann Gevers, one of the founders of the Cryptovalley ecosystem in Zug and the CEO of Monetas, a digital payments company. The feud was apparently over the management of the funds raised. Readmore...
Cryptocurrencies Fuel Cybercrime: Study
Cryptocurrency is one of the key factors that fuel cybercrime, which cost the global economy $600 billion in 2017, or 0.8 percent of global GDP, a new report says. The report, based on a study conducted jointly by computer security giant McAfee and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), points to the alarming magnitude of the global economic impact of cybercrime. The report, titled "The Economic Impact of Cybercrime: No Slowing Down" found that theft of intellectual property represents about one-fourth of the cost of cybercrime last year. The cost of cybercrime in the worldwide Internet economy is estimated at $4.2 trillion in 2016. Read more...
Coinbase, Bitfinex Adopt New SegWit Protocol For Bitcoin
Two of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Bitfinex announced the adoption of support for Segregated Witness (SegWit) protocols for bitcoin (BTC) transactions on their platforms. The support for SegWit will see users of both the exchanges benefit from lower BTC fees and faster processing times. Coinbase and Bitfinex are among the largest trading platforms for bitcoin by volume. The Bitcoin community may be relieved by this news as they have complaining of high transaction fees and lower processing speed. Currently, not more than seven Bitcoin transactions per second can be processed globally, while major credit card operators process nearly 50,000 transactions per second. Read more...
Four Arrested In Taiwan's First Bitcoin Robbery
Police in Taiwan arrested four men charged with stealing bitcoin worth $170,000 or 5 million Taiwanese dollars, in what is described as the first robbery involving the cryptocurrency in the country. The incident happened in the central city of Taichung earlier this month, when a man was lured by three men in their early twenties, pretending to be interested in buying bitcoins. The robbers snatched the phone from the man and transferred 18 bitcoins worth 5 million Taiwanese dollar from the account in the phone. Read more...
Current Prices
As of 6.23 am ET on Friday, Bitcoin was down 1 percent at $10,100.09 and Ethereum was up 5.01 percent at $863.54 on Coinbase.
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